Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Reading for comps

 

I've been reading a lot these past few weeks, cause I'm looking for good comps for a book I'm sending out on submission.

 

Here's what I've read (so far):

 

The Stranger Behind You

Carol Goodman



Saving Ruby King

Catherine Adel West


Saving Ruby King is one of the best written books I've ever read.

Here's one sentence I have in my reading journal: "She wanted to fix people that liked being broken."

Just One Look

Lindsay Cameron


"Reconciling what the truth used to be with what the truth was now."



The Wife Between Us

Greer Hendricks



The Couple Next Door

Shari Lapena




My Lovely Wife

Samantha Downing



I Don't Forgive You

Aggie Blum Thompson

 

 


Darling Rose Gold

Stephanie Wrobel

Darling Rose Gold is a true sox-knocker.




Please See Us

Caitlin Mullen


Please See Us won Best First at the Edgars, and it was a VERY competitive field (including Darling Rose Gold and My Lovely Wife)



One of the best things about my job is that I have to read current books!

It's required!

Are you reading any front-list books? 


23 comments:

  1. Is Valerie Bertinelli's "Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today" a front-list book?

    I just started reading it, and it's interesting. But I think she could have easily cut out a third, and it would have been much better.

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  2. Hi Kitty!
    Yes, it's front list.
    Front list generally means the books in the most recent catalog.
    This book was pubbed in January 2022.

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  3. I'm not reading any front list books at the moment. The start of the year has been such that I am welcoming the comfort of books that I have read before and loved. They're kinda like a warm hug.

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  4. I have been feeling wimpy, with my body betraying me in some ways. I don't feel like critically ready anything, so I am just floating through something fluffy; you know, murder and mayhem.

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  5. Craig, murder and mayhem is the best medicine for all sorts of ouchies!

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  6. I just finished Game On by Janet Evanovich, pub date November 2, 2021.

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  7. Does getting Adam Rubin's "The Ice Cream Machine" on its release day this week and reading it with my kids at night count?

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  8. I recently read - and enjoyed! - THE OVERNIGHT GUEST by Heather Gudenkauf (published 2022).

    I am now thoroughly getting creeped out - in a good way! - reading DEAD SILENCE by S A Barnes (published 2022).

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  9. I have trouble with reading front list due to the old TBR pile. Example - right now I'm reading Shuggie Bain. Finally. (And loving it.)

    When you asked this question, I stopped to think, and then realized I DO have front list books. Probably the most current are Wiley Cash's WHEN GHOSTS COME HOME and Diane Chamberlain's THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET. I expect to read those in about two to three years, considering my track record. :)

    (Hey everyone!)

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  10. I just finished PONY by R.J. Palacio. Absolutely loved it. I'm trying to reading more middle grade as that's the age group of my next release. And I generally don't like books featuring horses - strange, I know, as I've had 100s of them in my life - because of all the false info and misconceptions: you don't walk a colicing horse till they're drenched in sweat and ready to drop.

    I'm about to begin our Donna Everhart's The Saints of Swallow Hill. I was able to attend a recent book signing. It was so good to see her in person, get a hug and a signed copy of her newest release.

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  11. Melanie - I don't read a lot of MG, but one of my favorite authors is Dusti Bowling. I've read almost all of her books and enjoyed them immensely. Her most recent one is ACROSS THE DESERT (2021) but my two favorites by her are INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS (2017) and THE CANYON'S EDGE (2020).

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  12. I've read three that were on your list, my favorite of which was THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR.

    Currently reading BLOODLINE by Jess Lourey. Her UNSPEAKABLE THINGS was so gripping, I probably set my expectations too high for this one, but it's still a great read especially for learning the craft. As a writer, I think I can see everything she's methodically doing.

    Happy reading, everyone.

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  14. Kai Harris, WHAT THE FIREFLIES KNEW (Excellent five star book) (a coming of age story happening in one summer – not much happens, but a ton happens)

    Erika Katz, FAKE (I learned a ton about the upscale art world – and Russian bad guys it’s a novel).

    Both books are worth reading
    I read a handful published in late 2021 (though not listed here)

    The only one on Janet Reid’s list I read was Darling Rose Gold. And I’m still angry I read that disaster.

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  15. Just in case these books published in 2021 count:

    C.J Box., DARK SKY (March 2021) (four stars) (It’s A Joe Pickett novel, always a must read)

    Allen C, Guelzo, ROBERT E. LEE: A LIFE (Sept 2021) (five stars) (learned much about American history I did not know)

    Jerad Alexander, VOLUNTEERS: GROWING UP IN THE FOREVER WAR (This was a bait and switch promotional blurb – 2 stars) (a memoir)

    Brian Klingborg, THIEF OF SOULS May 2021 – (detective thriller in China) 4 stars

    Lee Child, Andrew Child, BETTER OFF DEAD October 2021 (Jack Reacher overcomes obstacle, kills a bunch of men, rinse and repeat a dozen times)) – 3 stars

    William Kent Krueger, LIGHTNING STRIKE, August 2021. Excellent, my first Krueger novel – I hope it’s not my last (Five big stars)

    John Volanthen, THIRTEEN LESSONS THAT SAVED THIRTEN LIVES: THE THAI CAVE RESCUE. July 21, 2001 9written by one of the principals rescuing those Thai boys from the flooded cave. 5 stars (a memoir)

    Nastashia Leon – THE PERISHING, Nov 2021 – Don’t waste your time on this one – 2 star

    Ian Manuel, MY TIME WILL COME: A MEMOIR 0F CRIME, PUNISHMENT, HOPE AND REDEMPTION, May 2021 - 4 Stars ( it’s a memoir that includes some poems written in prison – The poems in context ae excellent )

    Donna VanLiere, THE DAY OF EZEKIAL’S HOPE, March 2021- excellent novel. Five Stars

    Ellery Adams, INK AND SHADOWS – 4 stars (part of the Secret, Book and Scone cozy mystery series)

    Frank Figliuzzi, THE FBI WAY: INSIDE THE BUREAU’S CODE OF EXCELLENCE – Jan 2021 - 4 stars

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  16. Since you are reading thrillers- have you read The Last Passenger by Candalish

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  17. Joe, I knew I knew Darling Rose Gold, but also knew I hadn't read it - I remember it from your review! Thank you for mentioning because now my brain can think about other, more important matters, like what keeps moving the rocks in my bird bath overnight?

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  18. Sorry, AJ, I'll be more careful with the rocks in your birdbath next time. But that body we were carrying across your yard was so unwieldy.

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  19. Have you read "The Water Sprite"?... A well written, fast paced, gritty murder mystery with elements of magical realism... No, you haven't because I can't find an agent willing to take it on.
    I blame it on cowardice. I mean, it couldn't be me... could it?

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  20. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson and The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont. Both good so far.

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  21. Latest Reacher book was mildly disappointing. The staccato type of sentences was overdone and took me right out of the story. Lee Child had it down to an art form, but his brother took it too far. Or the style is starting to wear on me.

    Not a front list book, I see, since out November 2021. Soooo...guess the answer is no, I haven't read any.

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  22. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. Good so far!

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  23. Darling Rose Gold is a fantastic read!

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